Russia’s Pro-Ukraine Art World & Using NFTs to Empower Victims
Russian gallerists and artists struggle under sanctions & Scrubbing a murder video from the internet using an NFT
Cultured is a newsletter by Otis that gets readers up to speed on the most interesting things going on at the intersection of finance, art, collectibles, NFTs, and more.
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🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
The invasion of Ukraine is destroying Russia’s art world
Most of Russia’s art world supports Ukraine’s independence. But that hasn’t stopped them from feeling the effects of Putin’s decision to invade the country.
Sales at Russian galleries have dropped off amid ongoing uncertainty and news of new sanctions against Russia. Many in Moscow’s art world fear that they will face boycotts from museums in the West in response to their leader’s actions.
Russian artists are also facing an increasingly hostile local environment. The country has cracked down on artists who create political art that criticizes the Putin regime.
Our Take: For Russia’s art market, the invasion of Ukraine is the latest in a series of blows.
Russia’s art market has been under pressure since 2014, when the invasion of Crimea spurred a round of boycotts. Increasingly cut off from the global art market, gallerists and artists have moved abroad in search of better work. Those who have stayed in the country have to walk a fine line: many of the oligarchs who are friendly with the state are also their clients. This latest round of sanctions will be an inflection point for many in Russia’s art world.
Using an NFT to scrub a murder video from the internet
Alison Parker, a journalist, was killed by a former coworker on live television. Her father plans to turn the clip into an NFT and claim copyright over the NFT to force social media platforms to remove the video.
Despite filing complaints and flagging copies of the 17-second video, Parker’s father has seen it resurface repeatedly on social media. That’s because laws shield tech companies from liability for content posted on their platforms.
While the token approach is novel, copyright claims have been a productive way to remove sensitive content in the past.
Our Take: NFTs commodify otherwise intangible digital objects. That can have positive impacts in non-marketplace settings.
Unlike other viral videos that have been turned into NFTs, Parker’s father isn’t trying to sell the token. Instead, he wants to use the technology’s ability to cement his claim to the video and get it removed. If it works, that approach could be replicated by a host of victims of virality to regain control over their likeness.
✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
Who’s doing NFTs now? Stephen Colbert. (Check out the full list of NFTs by celebs and big brands on Otis Mag.)
An incredibly rare blue diamond, the largest to go under the hammer, is expected to fetch around $50 million.
Hundreds of rare, sealed video games from the 1990s were found in a storage facility in Nebraska. They were put there after a local store shuttered in 1994 and have been untouched since then.
Yeezy’s Gap x Balenciaga collab has officially dropped. Check out the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga collection.
Meta’s metaverse will let you create things just by describing them. I’m getting strong Genesis vibes.
Michelob Ultra has teamed up with the NBA for these sick vintage pixelated beer cans.
Remember Obama’s sick court skills in his game against Kobe and LeBron? A signed basketball from that game is going up for auction.
